Because if you express them and don’t take conscious action to feel them, discover the root cause, heal them and then turn them into something positive and useful, then you are just reinforcing how crappy you feel.

And a funny thing happens.

When you like to express your negative emotions without taking action to heal the root cause, you tend to hang with folks who do the same thing.

This is why misery loves company.

You’ve got to feel it, express it, discover the root cause, healing and then let it go. The spiritual path is not meant to be the path of constant complaints about your negative emotions.

No.

The spiritual path is a healing path.

One where you accept how you feel and know that it’s not who you are. One where you know that you have a higher Self that is your natural teacher. One where you discover the root cause of your negative emotions and heal it. And then you let it go.

What happens when you do this?

Well..

You heal all the limitations in your life.

And when you do that, you can truly live limitless.

Don’t assume that just because you’ve expressed a negative emotion that that is enough to heal it.

You’ve got to go deeper. And participate in your healing. And make the hurt and transform it into love.

All you need is within you now.

You have the wisdom. You have the ability to ask for help and find a mentor. You have the resilience.

Green juice can help improve your health in so many other well-documented ways.

I even have a fancy juicer called Juicero (that makes raw, cold-pressed juice at home, with no mess).

And, just this morning at about 5:30 am had my first green juice of the day.

So, I looooove me some green juice.

But, here’s the thing. Green juice is not enough.

Neither is wearing spiritual or religious garb. Or going to yoga. Or eating GMO-free food. Or going to see a healer. Or getting blessed by someone named “Baba” or “Ji” or “Saint,” etc. It’s not enough to use spiritual words.

It’s not enough to meditate. Or change your name to a spiritual name. It’s not enough to have a vision board. And it’s not enough to leave the outcome and destiny of your life up to “whatever happens, happens and is meant to be.”

And for the love of all things Holy… it’s not enough to blame MERCURY IN RETROGRADE!

If you want to make real progress, real growth and experience a life of true freedom… there’s one thing that we must do above all else to get there.

So, before I tell you what it is… let me give you some sugar (or stevia).

Everything you really want is on the other side of this.

ALL the good stuff. All of it.

The love. The money. The recognition. The impact. The freedom. All of it.

Ready?

You’ve got to become aware of emotions you’ve been ignoring, feel them and allow them to pass (without judgment or judgment of your judgment).

Then, they must be witnessed in a productive way by others (not the venting, misery loves company way), no.

They must be witnessed, validated and then released.

The goal is not merely to go from the repression of emotions to letting them out (and making yourself feel better at the cost of hurting others).

The goal is to, like any infestation, identify the root cause and then neutralize them.

And after neutralization, the goal is to turn all that negative energy into creative works of Love.

I am not suggesting you ignore your negative emotions.

No. We must bring them up.

But we must also allow them to pass over and through us without clinging to them. Only then will you be able to step into the life you want.

As much as I love me some alkaline, cold-pressed green juice, that green juice ain’t gunna do this for you.

Neither is your Astrologer. Or your life coach.

They can help you, but they are all guides pointing you within. You’ve got to do the darn work!

Choose mentors who help you get through this process and not linger on negative emotions for too long.

When we waste time repressing and looping negative emotions, we commit a slow form of suicide.

And, this kind of repression and blaming others is “normal”.

The world is where it is today because we are in an epidemic of repressed emotion that does not have a healthy and productive outlet.

So we vent on social media and blame the other side for an emotional reality that is self-created.

You can make the world a better place by doing your work, and then helping others do theirs.

There is a great, big, wide open future ahead for you. Don’t settle for the slow death of normal.

The true nature of the Universe is abundant, full of Love and ready to assist you to step into your unique greatness.

Notice your unfelt feelings. Let them pass without judgment. Share them in a sacred circle of a trusted tribe.

And then start taking action to turn this energy into creative acts of Love.

And remember to start with that Love aimed at you.

You deserve it, too.

You can choose to grow yourself up, mature the wounded (not broken) parts of you and to step into your unlimited potential.

Or, you can join the walking dead who are unconscious of their negative emotions, blame others for why they are there and never experience the AWE of their true Self.

Sound like a judgment?

It’s not.

This is fact.

If that sentence up there hit a nerve, good! It mean’s I’m speaking to the part of you that knows it’s true. Witness that emotion and see what happens when you don’t react to it, but instead let it pass.

What’s underneath it?

You don’t fear life. You fear emotions.

Love your emotions no matter where they are today. Let them pass. Share them with sacred intent. And then turn them into a force for good.

Each experience, each moment is a choice – am I going to heal or am I going to hold on to these negative emotions?

It’s never to late to make a new choice.

If you kind of like (even though you would never admit it) holding on to negative emotions, know this…

The cost of chronically hanging on to negative emotions is nothing short of your best life, your unique purpose and the abundance that you seek. It’s a slow death.

That’s quite a price to pay for an emotion you don’t even like feeling.

“Spirituality can release blocks, lead you to ideas, and make your life artful. Sometimes when we pray for guidance, we’re guided in unexpected directions. We may want a lofty answer and we get the intuition to clean our bedroom.”

– Julia Cameron

Do you ever wonder if you’re listening to your intuition? Or to your fear? And does that lack of certainty make you feel like doubting yourself? And does it keep you stuck as a result?

Not a problem.

That makes you human.

So, if you find yourself asking the question, “Is this fear—or is this intuition?” know that you aren’t alone.

Here’s what’s so tricky.

When you follow your intuition, the amount of fear you feel will actually INCREASE.

This means that you may actually be tuning into your intuition and into your fear. In fact, when you live an intuitive life—by its very nature—you’re living in uncertainty and taking daily leaps of faith.

Who wouldn’t be scared of that?

So the real question isn’t about fear vs. intuition. The real question is, “How can you tell the difference between fear that keeps you alive and fear that keeps you stuck?”

Fear that keeps you alive is good. Love that kind of fear. But you probably aren’t constantly in mortal danger. The other kind of fear is what I call…

Survival Patterns™

Survival Patterns™ are unconscious, irrational fears based on past trauma that keep you stuck. And here’s the thing about Survival Patterns™… they’re typically blind spots.

You don’t know that you have them.

So how can you know if you’re listening to a Survival Pattern™ or to a real fear? Ask yourself the following questions:

“Is this a heart-centered and intuitive, “YES”, but also scary?”

You’ll feel the answer. You won’t know it.

99% of what you’re scared of is just old Survival Patterns™. Don’t let them hold you back. To live the intuitive and guided life means that you’ll also be scared.

Following your intuition will produce more fear, but that’s okay.

Courage is the muscle that makes you strong enough to grow.

Have no idea what you’re doing… have it seem almost insignificant and foolish… feel like you’re wandering.

Not all who wander are lost.

You’re in a human body. You’ll feel fear. It ain’t no thang.

Just take one step at a time, and learn to love the feeling of being afraid.

If you don’t learn from your mistakes… well that is what Einstein defines as “insanity”.

Doing the same thing over and over again, but thinking something different is going to happen.

Each step of the way, you will have new insights, new learnings and be even clearer on your path. Do not move forward without taking a moment to learn about what outcomes your action has brought you.

Take time once a week to ask:

1. What did I do since last week?

2. What got in the way of my progress?

3. What can be improved?

4. What did I learn?

5. How will I apply this lesson starting now?

If you check in like this regularly, you can stop failure before it starts.

2. Delineate

You must delineate between actual fear and Survival Pattern™ fear.

Remember, Survival Patterns™ are unconscious (or hidden) fears.

Meaning, they are blindspots. You don’t know you have them. They feel familiar in the body. There is a contraction. Blood pressure increases. Tension is there. Adrenaline flows. You can feel like life is threatening you.

Survival Patterns™ are mostly wrong. They think that if you make a decision to live your purpose, to take a risk, that you’ll die.

But, nothing could be further from the truth.

SP’s keep you safe, but they also prevent you from taking the necessary risks you need to take to become who you’re meant to be.

So, you must figure out, is this a Survival Pattern™? Or is this a legitimate fear?

Legit fears are ones like… “Hey, the building is burning down, I should run out of here, now!”

Or, “If I go down that alley way towards that person with a gun, I might get hurt… maybe let’s not do that…”

SP’s are just automatic responses to uncertainty that are keeping you stuck. 99% of fear is a Survival Pattern™.

Your job is to call it’s bluff and to move forward boldly.

3. Decide

You will never know for sure if you’re SP is full of B.S. until you make a decision. Make it a habit of calling B.S. on your Survival Patterns™ on a daily basis.

Assume that your faith will pay off and be detached from “how” it will pay off.

If you feel, in your heart (typically an opening/pulling sensation in your chest and/or solar plexus) that the decision you are about to make it correct – that is important information. However, at the same time… that feeling will produce fear in your body.

Following your intuition creates more fear responses in the body.

That’s just ‘cuz you are doing something new.

So, you can feel free to pop into a Kundalini Yoga class and just… chill.

Most likely, it’s not legit fear. Just Survival Pattern™ fear.

And, if it’s SP fear…. who cares?

You want to follow your heart – literally – with your decisions that you make.

This is why I get still and feel my heart before I make a big decision.

The wonderful Oprah Winfrey was asked recently how to make decisions, her answer?

Get still.

It’s something that you feel. Something that your gut “knows” is right, but the Survival Mind will try to justify and overthink.

Kill your 5, or 10 year plan and just focus on the next 30 days.

What can you do in 30 days to produce a result?

Bring your attention to the present moment. Get still, listen and trust that heart-centered yes.

And, you can even change the meaning of the fear you feel.

Instead of anxiety…. trying calling it…

EXCITEMENT!

You’ve got this Jens. I’m proud of you. Thank you for asking such a great question.

My greatest wish for you is to be obedient to your intuition, to trust it with your actions and to keep a steadfast mindset that all is happening FOR you and not TO you.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This is no small thing. However, we must ask the following three questions:

1. What creates life?

2. What creates liberty?

3. What creates happiness?

For #1 – the Declaration of Independence clearly states there is a Creator.

According to Webster’s dictionary, to create means to “bring into existence.”

You were breathed into existence by a Creator.

For #2 and #3… it is your “unalienable Right” to be free and happy.

What does “unalienable” even mean, though?

Again, according to Websters, the definition of unalienable is “impossible to take away or give up.”

Which means that no one can take away your right to be free and happy… that is…. except YOU.

If you aren’t happy and free… what do we do about it?

The next line in the Declaration of Independence tells us:

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”

Now… let’s change the words around a little bit to apply directly to YOUR life…

“That to secure these rights, actions are taken by you, deriving their just powers from the consent of your beliefs, — That whenever any Form of belief becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of your Soul to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new belief.”

You see… you are either imprisoned by… or freed by… your own beliefs.

But, what is a belief?

I can decide not to “believe” in gravity… and yet it still exists.

I get it.. perhaps you want to find a way to this line of thinking wrong… which would mean you wouldn’t have to change.

So, for a moment… pause…. and OPEN your mind… and feel me.

Tony Robbins defines a belief as a “feeling of absolute certainty about what something means.”

So… belief = meaning.

What is meaning?

You can think of meaning as your “interpretation” of your life.

So… while we can choose to not believe in gravity… you will experience pain as a result.

So… a “belief” is simply being 100% convinced that your interpretation about life is correct.

And, to be 100% certain of the accuracy of your interpretation about life… is to be foolish.

Just ask any crime scene investigator… time and time again, you can interview multiple witnesses of a crime, and each person will give you a different story or contrary details about what happened.

So, if multiple people can see an event that happened recently differently and not agree on the facts, could you consider that perhaps you’ve remembered a few of the facts inaccurately about your past?

The only thing stopping you from being happy and free is your interpretation of your life.

Is it nothing short of self-evident that you were made by a Creator who intended you be free and happy – these are unalienable Rights.

And… no person outside of yourself can take away those Rights.

When you change your interpretation of what happened… you begin to see that life didn’t happen “to” you… but rather it’s happening “for” you.

When you change the interpretation of your life… you do not change the past… or put on some pollyanna glasses and pretend everything is okay… but… you realize that within every hurt, every setback… every seemingly “bad” thing… is also a lesson… an opportunity to grow and a chance to transmute the pain of your past into serving others.

And… when you do that… you take your power back.

Doing so won’t change the past… but it will change how you relate to the past and thus it will change your present moment and your future.

You are meant to be happy and free.

And you are free at any moment to change your beliefs… to change your meanings… to change your interpretation of what’s happened in the past…

Remember… you have been given the right to happiness and freedom, but it is up to you to CLAIM and CREATE a life where happiness and freedom are your experience.

Coaching Clarity:

Are there interpretations of your past that it’s time to abolish or alter?